The Cost of a Life
by iceberganalogy
Summary: Edward has learned the lesson already, but when tragedy strikes him again, will he be willing to pay the cost of a life? Please Read and Review! [HIATUS]


"No." He was kneeling on the ground, disheveled blonde braid falling around the side of his face, loose strands tangled.

"No, no, no, no, no." Tears dripped down, tracing a silvery path on his cheeks, eventually merging with the blonde hairs.

"Why? Why, why, why her? Why her?!" His despaired mutters growing louder and louder, sobs beginning to rack his body.

He shook, his red waistcoat shook too as moans of pain went through him as well.

She lay dead in front of him. Her hair, a brighter shade of yellow, usually so pristine and put into a neat ponytail, was now as disheveled as his and soaked in her own blood.

She couldn't be gone. She couldn't, she couldn't she couldn't.

He eyed the gun lying near her head, the thing that some sick freak had used to murder her, and for a second, he contemplated putting it to his own head and staining it with his blood too.

Edward shook his head, taking the idea out of his mind. He stood, tears still on his face, but his expression was no longer of mourning, it was of anger and hate and pain.

He clapped his hands into a prayer and placed them on the gun. A blue light filled the room as it transmuted into a knife.

On the blade was the name of his prayer, engraved into the name of who he would avenge.

_Winry_

* * *

Al sat outside the crime scene, grief-stricken. Winry had been their friend since... well, since forever...but whatever grief he felt could barely compare to what his older brother was probably feeling.

When they had gotten the call, he remembered the way Edward's eyes looked. They were empty and tortured.

Just hours before he had told Al that he was going to propose properly* to her. Go to the mountains around Resembool and have a picnic by a stream. Finally show her how much he loved her.

More tears fled down Al's eyes as he mourned for the loss of his friend and would-have-been sister-in-law. He turned to see Edward, looking so dead, but so furiously _alive_, with a knife in his hands. Al's breath caught as he saw the name on the blade. And soon more tears were shed as he saw that in Ed's other hand, was the ring box that contained Winry's engagement ring.

.oOo.

Colonel Mustang was behind Alphonse standing watch as he mourned as well. For the long time he had known the Elrics, Winry had visited constantly, and he had started to grow attached to the young mechanic. She was a kind girl, and he could see the obvious love between her and Fullmetal. Winry and him had begun to be friendlier once the Promised Day had passed, with a common love of making life tough for Fullmetal. Winry with her wrench, and Roy with his ass-loads of paper work.

He couldn't begin to feel the pain Ed and Al felt though...

He looked at Al, a complete mess, and turned at Edward's pounding foot steps. The murderous look in his eyes was betrayed with tears of grief lacing his eyelashes and cascading down his face.

.oOo.

Riza Hawkeye stood next to her superior. She was grieving as well. Everyone was.

The second the call had reached Central, everyone who had known the girl was in a panic and ran towards their cars to get to Rush Valley or the Rush Valley train.

Armstrong was there, streams of tears pouring out of his eyes; Glacier was there, having been at Command with Elicia to say hi to Roy and leaving Elicia with a friend; Pinako, devastated at the loss of her granddaughter; Izumi Curtis and her husband, in shock that the strong young woman was now gone; Garfiel, and other apprentices saddened at a loss of a friend and talent.

And then there was Riza. She was sad of course. Sad was an understatement! Winry and Riza were close friends, but as much as grief threatened to overwhelm her, like it had Edward, she couldn't shake the feeling of suspicion surrounding the murder.

A Saturday night, at Winry's rented out apartment**, the murder of a military celebrity's best friend, and the gun had been left. Ed's choice to transmute the gun was stupid, but in the grief of the surrounding, they had let him. For there were still many other traces of evidence.

Footprints; blood, Winry seemed to have put up a struggle; and many other blatant pieces of data. Yet they were all having trouble processing who did it, even though they were leaving a clear enough trail... Riza fought back tears, she could not let sorrow cloud her mind from reasonable deductions. She seemed to be the only member of Winry's friends and family who wasn't sobbing hysterically or losing all logic to pain.

It all just was _too_ messy...

.oOo.

Pinako stared at the sky. Her granddaughter was now with her son and daughter-in-law, leaving her with no one. As the last tears fled Pinako's face, she lit a pipe and blew into it. It seemed so wrong that on such a sunny day, such a heinous crime was committed. But Pinako just puffed into the pipe wondering where her beautiful granddaughter resided now.

* * *

*In FmAB, Ed proposes to Winry, but the way he says it... pfff just watch for yourself... oh Eddy. /w/

**It says on the Wiki that she was a live in apprentice, but once she raised enough money she moved out? I don't know! I'm just adapting stiff to fit my plottt

* * *

A/N: So... It was just an idea in my head. Sorry for spoilers and stufffffffffffffff ^v^

Wahh Winry is dead. No, she didn't commit suicide, she was legitimately killed. I just wanted Ed to do that AWESOMEness with the gun. That was a cool idea.

it waz kewl.

Hey, if any of you are all "He should get the philosopher's stooonnnnneeeeeee" ~e n o~ or "He should use alchemy and commit the tabooooooo" THEN SHUTTUP I'M GETTING THERE. Shut. Up.

Btw, can you tell I don't like paragraphs? ^u^

But read and review please! I'll try to update at least once a month, but no promises.


End file.
